Automobile.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' MICHAEL H. SULLIVAN, OF POUGHKEEPSIE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO ALONZOSEDGWICK, OF POUGHKEEPSTE. NEW YORK.

AUTOMOBILE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 12, 1907.

Application filed May 17,1906. Serial'Nor 317.367,

' proved devices for automatically locking. the

wheels to the axle-shaft when the latter is being driven by the motorfor automatically releasing the wheels from the driving axleshaft whenthe motor is stopped, so that the wheels are permitted to coast or turnon and independently of the axle-shaft, and thus relieve thevehicle ofthe braking effect which would result from turning the axleshaft withand by the Wheels and running the motor -dead, and for alsoautomatically releasing either of the wheels from the driving axle-shaftwhen the speed of such wheel is required to be greater than that of suchshaft, as when the vehicle is turning a corner.

My invention consists in the construction and combination of deviceshereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional view of a portionof an automobile driven wheel and of antiskidding-gear embodying myinvent-ion for connecting such wheel to the driving axle-shaft, thelatter being shown in elevation; and Fig. 2 is a transverse sectionalview of the same, taken on the plane indicated by the line a a ofFig. 1.

A portion of the-driving axle-shaft of the automobile, bicycle, or othervehicle is indicated at 1. It may be of any suitable construction. Thehub 2 of the'driven wheel is here shown as formed of two separablesections 3, secured together by bolts 4 and each hollowed on its innerside, so that said hub is provided with a central cylindrical chamber 5,the end walls 6 of which form friction-surfaces, so that the hub inaddition tobeing a hub is also a friction element of the driven wheel.Thehub is l00se on the axle-shaft, and in the chamber .5 and-opposed tothe friction-surfaces 6 thereof are friction elements 7, (here shown ascircular plates,) which are movable toward and from each other, areloose on the axle-shaft, and are spaced apart.

A cam 8, which is disposed between the movable friction elements 7, issecured to the axle or driving shaft, as by a key 9. cam has webs 10 atits ends, each of which has a cam-slot l1. Said cam-slots are here shownas curved, the central or dwell portion of each slot being nearest tothe axleshaft, the end portions thereof receding from said axle-shaft.

" The movable friction elements 7 are con- Said nected together atdiametrically opposite points by pairs of toggle-jointed links 9, thesame being pivotally connected to the fric tion elements "7, as at 10,an'arm 11 being pivotally connected to each pair of such toggle-jointedlinks, as at 12, and .being provided with a tappet-roller 13, whichoperates in'one of the cam-slots. Assuming that the tappet-rollerS arein the central or dwell portions of the cam-slots, the toggle-jointedends of the links will be drawn toward the axle-shaft and said linkswill draw the friction elements 7 toward each other and out of contactwith the friction-surfaces 6 of the hub or driven-wheel frictionelement, so that the wheel will be free to coast or turn on the drivingaxle-shaft, and this will be true if'the axle-shaft is not in revolutionor is being revolved at a lower rate of speed than the wheel.

If the wheel is at rest and the aXle-shaft'is turned in either directionby the application of the power of the motor thereto, if the device isin use on anautomobile vehicle, or by the power of the rider if thedevice is in use on a bicycle, the angular movement of the cam andaxle-shaft with reference to the wheel will cause one end portion ofeach of the earn-slots to acton the tappet-roller in engagementtherewith, sothat the arm 11 will be moved outwardly radially withreference to the axle-shaft, and the toggle-jointed links will force thefriction elements 7 outwardly in opposite directions and friction.- allyengage such friction elements with the friction-surfaces of the hub orwheel friction element, and there'ldy frictionally' lock the wheel tothe axle-shaft, so that the wheel will be driven by the said shaft andwill act as a traction-wheel to effect the propulsion of the vehicle.The same result will be secured f if the wheel is revolving and theaxle-shaft longitudinally with relation to the shaft into and out offrictional engagement with the friction member of the driven wheel, acam on and turned by the shaft, and means ooacting with the cam andactuated by the an- Wheel, to operate the-longit-udinally-movablefriction member.

2. The combination of a driving-shaft, a driven wheel loose thereon andhaving a friction-mem-ber provided with oppositely-disposedfriction-surfaces, spaced apart, a cam on and turned by the shalt,friction members movable longitudinall with respect to the shaftinto andout of'frictiona-l engagement with the friction-surfaces of thedriven-Wheel friction member, and means eoacting with the cam andactuated by the angular move.-

multaneously move the longitudinally-movable friction members, ,for thepurpose set fort-h. i

3. The combination of-a driving-shaft, adriven wheel loose thereon andhaving a friction member provided with opposing spaced frictionsurfaces, friction members loose on 2 and longitudinally movable withrespect to the shaft into and out of engagement with thefriction-surfaces of the driven-wheel frietion member, a cam fast on theshaft and disposed between said long]tu hnally-movable friction members,toggle-jointed linkseongular movement thereof with respect to thenet-ting said members, and means, operated f ment thereof with respectto the wheel, to siby thee-am and connected to the saidilinks,

to operate said longitudinallyanoval le frietion members when the shaftis turned angularly with respect to the wheel.

in testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses. i v

MICHAEL H. SULLIVAN, Witnesses:

JAMES EUARRoLL. JOHN E. MACK.

